SIANspheric Make an Epic Return from Outer Orbit

October 26, 2016

The two-decade-plus-long existence of Hamilton, Ontario's SIANspheric seems both improbable and poetic. The band's remarkable debut, 1995's Somnium, has been hailed as one of the top Canadian albums of all time. The expansive There's Always Someplace You'd Rather Be followed in summer 1998, by which point the band was on the verge of emulating a solar flare, its brilliant eruptions fuelled by unpredictable and destructive forces.

After 1999's Else compilation and 2001's The Sound Of The Colour Of The Sun, SIANspheric lapsed into indefinite hiatus, though its hibernation was never total. By 2009, the band was at work on its fourth studio album, Writing the Future in Letters of Fire. This fall, that album finally sees release, ending an epic 15-year drought. Like planets aligning, fans can also look forward to the reissue of the classic Somnium, which Chart Attack ranked as #40 on the Top 50 Canadian Albums of All Time — available on vinyl for the first time ever in a beautiful double vinyl package accompanied by digital treats that include unreleased songs and brand new remixes.

The band's new album, Writing the Future in Letters of Fire (out October 28, 2016) includes nods to SIANspheric's past and leaps forward — staying grounded, while providing dreamy whirrs and explosive noise bursts. Band members (Matt Durrant, Ryan Ferguson, Jay Patterson and Sean Ramsay) hearken back to their '90s roots on the title track, treading the line between calm and chaos, where echoes of Smashing Pumpkins meet echoes of The Verve, and on "Shimmer" (originally written in 1996), which builds and builds… and builds…

Not content to stand still, the group also pushes the envelope by incorporating glorious choral accompaniment courtesy of Hamilton’s Earth, Wind & Choir on the first single, "I Have It," and Tame Impala-inspired trips on the breakdown choruses of "The Simple Exit". The psych sludge on the outro of "The Flight of the Owl" is reminiscent of Wooden Shjips and the wheels almost entirely come off during the jazz skronk of "Los Herejes" (featuring horns from Hamilton’s Eschaton) or the 14-minute, untitled, live-off-the-floor freakout that closes Side D. The album is a true past-meets-future revelation.

Get the planetary perspective of SIANspheric's Sean Ramsay, stream Writing the Future in Letters of Fire now at Noiseyand buy it here.